The Wind!
On a good day, any ride over Monte to Woodruff is a challenge. When conditions permit, it just sucks! Who can't appreciate 6,700 feet of climbing?
From Huntsville Town Square, to the end of SR 39, is 49.7 miles. Add a turn into the camp ground and you'll make 100 miles for the day from this starting point. The above elevation profile shows the climb from both directions. Considering the average overall elevation, the air is a bit thin as well. The way it looks, you'd think getting back to the top from Woodruff is much easier. That's always a good way to look at it, but generally speaking......it varies - GREATLY!
From the moment I started up SR 39, the wind was howling directly out of South Fork Canyon. All the way over the top there was wind. Highly unusual, but you take what comes your way. Even with the wind, the bike was in the big ring upfront all the way to Ant Flat Road - an achievement for this season. I made sure to fuel a little better than last week, with a couple Gu's and a banana at timed intervals up to little Monte. Rolling past the camp ground, I pushed down 350 calories with a ton of protein. Carrying three water bottles was not needed for the cooler front side, but that wouldn't be the case coming back. Key times this morning were okay, call them respectable for this season anyway, but certainly not my best times ever. Given that, you always have to take into account the conditions, "best times" are always subjective.
The ride back started with the constant wind that was already shifting on my way into town. I was hopeful the headwind that fought me going into town would give me a push going out. In the 20 minutes or so I spent filling-up, everything changed. Normally the first few miles out of town are fairly easy. Even with a little wind, the real resistance doesn't hit until about 7 - 10 miles back. Today was resistance from the get go, and it only got worse as the miles went on. The temps weren't too bad, but very deceiving, in that I really had to watch my water intake. By the time I hit the snow gate, about 15 miles up, I checked to see how well I had been hydrating. By that point I had consumed about 3/4 bottle, with two full. I made an concerted effort to hydrate more often and push a couple Gu's on specific schedules. A few fruit snacks also kept the blood sugar up. Coming out of the canyon and onto the dugway, I was at times only 4.5 MPH. The wind was relentless and just flat out punishing. I stopped at the top of the dugway, at MP 51 (the curve) on found a little shade. From there it was a constant push back up to the top.
At the camp ground, I was nearly out of water. A lot of time had been lost getting back, and the wind was increasing. I choked down a Cliff bar and maybe 25 ounces of water, filled two bottles and set out.
I still had the scoops fully open from somewhere coming back up from town, so I had to stop at MP 44 to zip-up. Having learned the hard way, not having the kit fully zipped is a sure way to get stung by a pissed-off bee that gets trapped in the jersey. And then the wind, it only got worse. Trying to duck down on to the bars when being that tired is not easy. In South Fork Canyon, it was worse than normal, and incredibly hot. Still, a little focus managed that pain.
After shredding my rear tire last week on this same ride, I re-fit the DT Swiss wheel-set with a set of 700 X 23s. I've never run the 23s on this wheel set before. Today with the wind, I think it was a good choice. I'll have some new 25s before race day and will probably kit those on both my DTs and my RXL wheels. If it is going to be windy, the DTs are they ticket. If not, I may run the RXLs this year.
With the Cache Century having been cancelled back in May, my annual tuneup ride isn't going to happen. Perhaps I'll head to East Canyon for an early morning group "poach". We'll see what conditions are like.
Check back for a special post this weekend. Meanwhile.......
Ride HARD!
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